Typical prior art hair spray compositions employ polymeric fixatives to hold the hair set. They also contain large amounts of lower alkanol in order to solubilize the polymer fixative. As used herein, lower alkanol means C.sub.1 to C.sub.5 alkanols such as ethanol and isopropanol. The lower alkanol additionally serves as primary solvent for the formulation. The lower alkanol content of prior art compositions makes compositions known in the art flammable. Their flammability presents obvious dangers in the manufacture of such formulations and in their use by end users. Moreover, there is a wide spread perception, among such end users, that the lower alkanol in products intended for application to hair is harmful to the hair. Moreover, increased environmental awareness, of both government and consumers, has led to increased effort on the part of manufacturers to decrease the amount of volatile organic compounds in their hair care products, particularly hairsprays. Lower alkanols are the primary volatile organic compounds contained in hair spray products. Consequently, the desirability of formulating a hair fixative product which contains small amounts of lower alkanol to, preferably, no lower alkanol, and which can be utilized in a pumpable delivery system, is self-evident. Despite the fact that a pumpable hair fixative product containing little or no lower alkanol, in other words, a product which is substantially water based, would be desirable from a marketing perspective, no such pumpable product has as yet been successfully commercialized. The state of the art does not permit the development of a water-based fixative hair composition which performs similarly to conventional lower alkanol/polymeric systems. Attempts to replace lower alkanol with water, in conventional systems, have resulted either in only partially substituted systems, due to the solubility limits of conventional hair fixative polymers in water, or, in fully substituted formulations which when delivered from conventional pump sprayers, dispense and perform unacceptably. These formulas, which use water as the primary solvent, tend to dispense a large particle spray, have a very long drying time, and give the treated hair an unnatural look.
The present invention provides compositions which resolve the aforementioned deficiencies of prior art compositions. The compositions of the instant invention contain a polymer which serves as a hair fixative. The hair fixative polymer is water dispersible and forms a continuous film on the hair shaft.
The present inventors have found that the key to providing an acceptable dispensing pattern and acceptable hair spray characteristics, is inclusion, in the compositions of the invention, of a copolymer containing dimethyl polysiloxane and organo-modified methylsiloxane moieties. Such copolymer is hereinafter referred to by the CFTA name, dimethicone copolyol. Surprisingly, the addition of this material produces an unexpected improvement in the reduction of wetness perception. It is believed that this material provides the perceived performance benefit partly by reducing the surface tension of the composition. This allows for the dispensing of smaller, more uniform, droplets. Moreover, due to the surfactant properties of the dimethicone copolyol, a more uniform coating of resin on the hair shaft is quickly obtained. This is evidenced by a dramatic reduction of clumping and matting of the hair. It may well be that the surfactant/conditioning properties of this particular dimethicone copolyol causes the compositions of the present invention to spread out and penetrate the hair shaft more rapidly.
In essence, the present invention resides in the novel use of dimethicone copolyol to enhance the performance of water-based hair spray formulations containing polymeric hair fixatives.
The dimethicone copolyol utilizable in the instant invention is available from Union Carbide, under the tradenames SILWET L-7614, SILWET L-7600, and SILWET L-7604. It is also available from DOW CORNING under the tradenames Silicone 190 Surfactant and Silicone 193 Surfactant.
The polyester polymers found to be of utility in the practice of the present invention are water-dissipatable polymers such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,220 to Coney entitled "Sequestering Agents and Compositions Produced Therefrom." According to the Coney patent, certain polymeric polyesters that comprise the reaction products of (a) at least one difunctional dicarboxylic acid; (b) at least one difunctional sulfomonomer containing at least one metal sulfonate group attached to an aromatic nucleus, the functional groups being hydroxy, carboxyl or amino, and (c) a glycol or a glycol and diamine mixture, the diamine having two --NRH groups and the glycol containing two --CH.sub.2 OH groups of which at least 0.1 mole percent, based on the total mole percent of hydroxy or hydroxy and amino equivalents, is a poly(ethylene glycol) having the structural formula H(OCH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2)n OH, n being an integer of 2 and about 500, with the proviso that the mole percent of the poly(ethylene glycol) within the range is inversely proportional to the quantity of n within the range, said polyester as defined above having an inherent viscosity of at least about 0.1 as defined in the Coney patent and including the reaction products based on the ester forming or esteramide derivatives of said reactants (a), (b), and (c), are suitable to sequester finely divided water insoluble, hydrophobic deformable organic substances of low dipole moment, i.e. from 0 to 18. Examples of such substances are recited by Coney at column 6, lines 12-21 and include sucrose esters, aromatic organic compounds, aliphatic or alicyclic organic compounds, paraffins, vegetable oils, etc. The Coney patent is incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,779,993 to Kibler et al; 3,734,874 to Kibler et al and 4,233,196 to Sublett also each relate to compositions comprising an aqueous dissipation of polymers described as linear, water dissipatable, meltable polyesters or polyester-amides prepared from the reaction of glycol, dicarboxylic acid, and difunctional monomer components. Each of these patents discloses that the difunctional sulfomonomer component of the polyesters or polyesteramides therein disclosed may advantageously be a dicarboxylic acid or ester thereof containing a metal sulfonate group, a glycol containing a metal sulfonate group or a hydroxy acid containing a metal sulfonate group, the metal ion of the sulfonate salt being Na+, Li+, Mg+, Ca++, Cu++, Ni++, Fe++, Fe+++ or the like.
Polymeric hair fixatives utilizable in the compositions of the present invention are those that are water dispersible. Particularly preferred are the Eastman AQ polymers. Of these, Eastman polymer AQ-55 is most preferred.
The Eastman AQ polymers are amorphous thermoplastic polyesters inherently dispersible in water. Such materials form hard, clear films without the need for solvents. More specifically, Eastman AQ Polymers are relatively high molecular weight, amorphous polyesters that disperse directly in water without the assistance of organic co-solvents, surfactants or amines. The water dispersibility is attributable to the presence of sodiosulfo (SO.sub.3 --Na.sup.+) substituents in the structure. The polymer chain is represented by the structure: ##STR2## A=an aromatic dicarboxylic acid moiety G=an aliphatic or cycloaliphatic glycol residue
--OH=hydroxy end groups
Some of the aromatic dicarboxylic acid units in Eastman AQ Polymer chains have sodiosulfo (SO.sub.3 --Na.sup.+) substituents. Although only two are shown in the structure set forth above, on the average, there are 5 to 8 ionic sodiosulfo substituents per molecule.
Dimethicone copolyol is an essential component of the present composition. As stated heretofore, it is available from Union Carbide. The Union Carbide SILWET surfactants are copolymers containing dimethylpolysiloxane and organo-modified methylsiloxane moieties. Unlike dimethicone, dimethicone copolyols are soluble in alcohol and soluble in, or readily miscible with, water. The preferred SILWET surfactant is SILWET L-7604. This material is of the type referred to by Union Carbide as alkyl pendant (non hydrolyzable). The pendant polyether is disclosed to be entirely ethyleneoxide. Moreover, it is methoxy terminated. Its weight is disclosed to be 3000 with a copolymer disclosed as 100. SILWET surfactant L-7604 is delineated as having the chemical name organo-modified polymethylsiloxane and as being a member of the organo silicone fluid chemical family.
The compositions of the present invention can contain other ingredients such as, for example, other polymers (e.g. PVP; PVP/VA) preservatives, ingredients to modify pH, fragrance, etc. Suitable preservatives include any and all preservatives commonly employed in cosmetically-acceptable formulations; for example, methylparaben, 2-phenoxyethanol, DMDMH, etc. If it is desired to adjust pH, a material such as aminomethylpropanol may be utilized. Other pH adjusting materials will be self-evident to one skilled in the art.
Although it is not essential, one can include in the formulations of the present invention, co-surfactants which are both oil and water miscible and/or co-solvents, such as glycerin, sorbitol and glycol ethers. The co-surfactants and co-solvents serve to improve the properties of the composition by aiding in solubilization, possibly by a bridge solvent effect . A co-surfactant that is particularly desirable is glycereth-7-triacetate. Co-solvents that are particularly desirable are glycerin, sorbitol, and propylene glycol.
The composition may contain other water soluble polymers as co-fixatives. Such materials are well known to those skilled in the art. They include, for example, polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP/VA (65/35) and PVP/Dimethylaminoethyl-methylmethacrylate copolymer. Polyvinylpyrrolidone is preferred.
It should be noted that as used herein, all percentages are percent by weight and are based on the total weight of the composition.
The AQ polymer is preferably employed in the compositions of the instant invention, in an amount from about 2% to about 10%. More preferably, it is employed in an amount from about 4% to about 8%. Most preferably, it is employed in an amount of from about 5% to about 7%.
The modified dimethicone copolyol is preferably employed in an amount from about 0.1% to about 3%. More preferably, it is employed in an amount of from about 0.2% to about 2%. Most preferably, it is employed in an amount of from about 0.3% to about 1.0%.
The co-surfactant, when present, is employed in an amount of up to about 5%. More preferably, it is present in a range of from about 0.2% to about 3%. Most preferably, it is present in a range of from about 0.3% to about 1.5%.
The co-solvent, when present, is employed in an amount up to about 5%. More preferably, it is present in an amount of from about 0.2% to about 3%. Most preferably, it is present in an amount of from about 0.3% to about 1.5%.
The co-fixative, when present, is employed in an amount up to about 5%. More preferably, it is present in an amount of from about 0.25% to about 3% and most preferably in an amount of from about 0.5% to about 2%.
Preservative(s), when present, and pH adjusting material(s), when present, are utilized in amounts well known to those skilled in the art and appropriate for the particular material selected.
It is important to note that, although the formulations of the present invention are preferably substantially lower alkanol-free, they may contain from about 0% to about 25% lower alkanol. The presence of lower alkanol s not required, nor does it offer any real advantage. However, it may be desired to employ some lower alkanol in the composition if one wishes to incorporate additional active(s) requiring lower alkanol for solubilization. This may be true for certain sunscreens and other actives. It is the intention of the present inventor to include within the scope of the present invention, other actives, such as vitamins, sunscreens, and the like, which are typically employed in cosmetic formulations intended for application to the hair.